a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to seats and particularly to foldable seats for infants and children of the type used in strollers, car seats, or any application related to foldable supports for infants and children, herein “seat pods”. The present invention seat pod provides a compact and portable seat pod for children and infants.
b. Description of Related Art
The following patents are representative of the field pertaining to the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,640 to Dean et al. describes a stroller having a stroller frame supported by front and rear wheels. The frame includes a latch assembly that is movable between a locked and an unlocked position. When in the locked position, the latch assembly prevents the frame from being folded. When in the unlocked position, the latch assembly allows the frame to be folded. A cup holder is supported by the frame that can move between an extended and a retracted position. The cup holder automatically moves to the retracted position when the stroller is folded.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,547,066 to Mendenhall describes a juvenile vehicle seat which includes a seat base, a foldable headrest, and a foundation including a leg rest.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,516,966 to Gray describes a convertible dual stroller and methods therefore for seating at least two children side-by-side when fully expanded, a single child when partially expanded and partially collapsed, and which is fully collapsible for storage. A secondary stroller portion is fixedly secured with a primary stroller portion and the secondary stroller portion may be collapsed when the convertible dual stroller is partially expanded and partially collapsed to seat one child while the primary stroller portion supports and transports the secondary stroller portion while the secondary stroller portion is collapsed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,577 to Watkins describes systems and techniques for a planar seating apparatus having a seat support in a first plane, a back support in a second plane and coupled to the seat support, and a plurality of side supports coupled to the back support. The plurality of side supports are adjustable and capable of folding, as is the back support, to provide a compact and easily transportable and storable device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,405 to Wright describes a convertible twin/single seat stroller for providing a two-in-one stroller which can be expanded to carry two children and contracted to carry only one child. The convertible twin/single seat stroller includes a frame assembly including front leg members and rear leg members, and also including cross members interconnecting the front and rear leg members; and also includes a wheel assembly being mounted to the front and rear leg members; and further includes handle members being mounted to the frame assembly; and also includes seat members being supported upon the frame assembly; and further includes a coupler for converting and securing a twin seat stroller to a single seat stroller.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,805 to Roy describes a folding wheelchair which includes first and second spaced-apart posts. A rear wheel is rotatably mounted to each post. First and second spaced-apart side rails are pivotally connected with a respective post. First and second front legs are pivotally connected with a respective side rail having their lower ends extending downwardly. A front wheel is connected with each front leg. A side tensional support member is pivotally connected to each leg and to a respective post. To fold the seat together, the front ends of the side rails are pivoted toward an upper end of the post. To further save space, the rear wheels are rotatively connected to the post by a quick release pin arrangement allowing for their quick removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,096 to Ting describes a collapsible multi-use baby carriage having a structure transformable into a dining chair, a safety seat in a car, a cradle, and a bed, comprising a seat, a backrest pivotally connected with the seat to change the angle of the backrest against the seat, a U-shaped hand rest pivotally connected with the backrest to possibly alter its angle against the backrest and having two opposite side tubes possible to be shortened and a windable support plate provided between the two opposite side tubes and windable on a winding tubular shaft housed in a front tube of the hand rest and to be pulled out thereof for putting foods thereon, and two front and two rear casters pivotally connected with the bottom of the seat and foldable to the bottom of the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,154 to Wang describes a foldable baby chair comprising a chair back, a chair seat pivotally connected to the chair back via a pivot assembly. The pivot assembly consists of a salient part, a recess part suitable for interfittingly engaging with the salient part, and a positioning assembly, allowing the chair back to be pivot relative to the chair seat and then positioned at a desired inclination by means of the positioning assembly. Substantially inverted U-shaped guard rails are separately connected to the chair back and the chair seat by means of pivot assemblies, so that the inverted U-shaped guard rails are allowed to pivot relative to the chair back or chair seat and can be positioned to different inclinations. Extensible and foldable handle, visor, and footrest can be pivotly connected to the chair back and chair seat, thereby allowing the baby chair to be otherwise used as a baby cart, carry-cot, carryall, suitcase, dining chair, rocking chair, etc. Moreover, the baby chair is provided with a multi-hole safety buckle assembly, which can be used in conjunction with a car seat to secure a baby to the car seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,106 to Shamie describes an umbrella stroller which includes two side frames, each having a main side tube and a rear side tube pivotally connected to the main side tube at an intermediate portion thereof; a bottom scissor frame foldably connecting the side frames together; two upwardly inclined support rods pivotally connected at rear ends thereof to lower ends of the rear side tubes, and pivotally secured to a lower end of a respective main side tube; a rear seat supporting assembly supporting a fabric seat between the pair of side frames and above the bottom scissor frame, the rear seat supporting assembly including two horizontal seat support bars, each hinged at a rear end thereof to an intermediate point of a rear side tube, and extending forwardly therefrom with a substantially horizontal orientation in the open configuration, a connecting bar pivotally connected between each horizontal seat support bar and the respective upwardly inclined support rod, and a back support; and a front seat supporting assembly for supporting a fabric seat between the pair of side frames, the front seat supporting assembly being provided in tandem with the rear seat supporting assembly; and the rear seat supporting assembly further including a hard seat rest connected between the horizontal seat support bars for providing a hard seat support for the rear seat supporting assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,911 to Gebhard et al. describes a foldable baby carriage which is foldable to a compact, reduced volume configuration having a height and width essentially less than or equal to the height and width of the back member. In the folded configuration, two of the components, preferably the back member and rear wheels support, cooperate to form a shell which encloses the other two major components of the carriage, preferably the seat member and the front wheels support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,829 to Fanslau et al. describes a wheel chair, especially for invalids, which is foldable in a vertical direction rather than horizontally to transform the chair into a very compact package. For this purpose all foldable components of the chair are equipped with journals having journal axes extending perpendicularly to a vertical central plane of symmetry of the chair. Further, the seat is vertically liftable and also horizontally guided on guide tracks (18) extending in parallel to the plane of symmetry of the chair. The guide tracks (18) are movable back and forth on guide rail sections (17) which are pivoted to the top of the support structure (4) of the chair. Hydraulic piston cylinder drives are connected to all chair components which are movable under a loaded condition with a person sitting in the chair. The chair seat is also divided so that the chair may be moved directly over a toilet seat, for example. By raising the chair seat sufficiently above the arm rests in the aisle of an aircraft or bus, a person may be transported directly to a passenger seat with the aid of the present chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,257 to Jacuzzi et al. describes a favorable three wheeled wheelchair with solid seat and back, the back being hinged for folding down upon the seat, while the side wheel and front wheel assemblies are hingedly secured for folding in under the seat, the entire wheel chair in its folded condition being of light weight and capable of storage in the trunk of a car.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,223 to Sakai describes a perambulator on wheels or baby carriage according to this invention in the form of a rectangular suitcase with a backrest and wheels which are retractable, thus making it easy to carry, the wheels extended or retracted being positively locked in a proper position.